By the way, arthurs, the Tokyo String Quartet's recordings of Beethoven's quartets are among my favorites, not the least because the recorded sound (on CD) is excellent. The perspective, soundstage, and resolution are excellent, IMO.
I have always enjoyed Endellion Quartet (heard them at Wigmore last year) and Beethoven's string works. Most interestingly, when i first bought the box set, i found the recording old and a bit 'wiry'...but as my system has become much more resolving, it has been able to dig out a remarkable amount more detail and suddenly those strings have much more of the same vibrancy that i feel with strings up close and personal including a depth and weight of sound which was missing earlier. It thus becomes one of many references i use now.
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Here's some seriously modern Wagner. Those who want their Parsifal to sound like an endless mass should look somehere else. But Janowski has a lifetime of following his way in this music: there is a sense of movement, but orchestral splendor. Most singers achieve a near-perfect balance of words and music (the only international star in the cast, Nikitin, being the exception for me).
The sound quality is superlative -- it's DSD multichannel for those equipped accordingly. It is a live recording in the Berlin Philharmonie, so the acoustics helps. I listen to it in PCM 24/96 and it makes me feel like Parsifal is too short. Like Kegel, it may be a great introduction to the work, emphasizing its richness and subtlety rather than it solemnity.
Allen,
Back in June in London I bought a used copy of the original release done in 1990. Thin vinyl, digital, it was 4GBP for a record in very nice condition. They did two more albums, IIRC. I think Pavarotti was unhappy with Decca at that point and the next two concerts were released by Sony or someone other than Decca. However, Christopher Raeburn continued to produce the records. He was a long time Decca producer and long time Pavarotti favorite. This recording, I think, was the best selling individual classical album of all time. It was staged in Rome (at the Baths of Caracalla) in recognition of the 1990 World Cup which was held in Italy. All of the three tenors are avid football (soccer) fans.
Larry
Parsifal has always been the most difficult of Wagner's music dramas for me (and I think for most). My starting point was the Knappertsbusch Bayreuth 1951 mono version on London/Decca which I have on the original vinyl. Do you know that one and how the Janowski compares?
I remember the Janowski Ring from the early days of digital - I think it was on something like 18 or 19 CD's on Eurodisc - I have the CD's somewhere. I thought was better than most critics - the wonderful Jeannine Altmeyer was the Brunnhilde IIRC.
Larry
Parsifal has always been the most difficult of Wagner's music dramas for me (and I think for most). My starting point was the Knappertsbusch Bayreuth 1951 mono version on London/Decca which I have on the original vinyl. Do you know that one and how the Janowski compares?
I remember the Janowski Ring from the early days of digital - I think it was on something like 18 or 19 CD's on Eurodisc - I have the CD's somewhere. I thought was better than most critics - the wonderful Jeannine Altmeyer was the Brunnhilde IIRC.
Larry
Parsifal has always been the most difficult of Wagner's music dramas for me (and I think for most). My starting point was the Knappertsbusch Bayreuth 1951 mono version on London/Decca which I have on the original vinyl. Do you know that one and how the Janowski compares?
I remember the Janowski Ring from the early days of digital - I think it was on something like 18 or 19 CD's on Eurodisc - I have the CD's somewhere. I thought was better than most critics - the wonderful Jeannine Altmeyer was the Brunnhilde IIRC.
Larry